Outer Rim Economic Convention Part 1

Outer Rim Economic Convention Part 1
Date of Scene:	03 May 2024
Location:	Cantonica
Synopsis:	Day 1 of the convention ends up involving some...unexpected drama.
Cast of Characters:	Cayde Alexis, Pike Windu, 159, 402, 396, Navi

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Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Today on Cantonica, the Republic has sponsored a large gathering of people from all around the galaxy. The event is mainly focused on giving Outer Rim businesses and other organizations a place to promote their various services and/or wares or just get their names out there.

    So today the racetrack has been repurposed into a convention space with many open markets and promotional booths where hundreds of businesses are selling various items from pet tookas to multitools to meiloorun fruit, and some are likely giving away promotional samples or running sweepstakes or other games to win free items or services.

    As it is a Republic-sponsored event, the Jedi of course have a presence as well. After all there are many in the Outer Rim who know very little about the Order and what its stands for. Some are tending the booth, while others are wandering about exploring the event and making new acquaintances. For his part, Cayde is probably in the latter group. Well, minus the making new acquaintances part...

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike Windu is manning the Jedi booth. He has fond himself a comfortable chair to relax in as he puffs on an old pipe. His lasersword rests in his lap, both close at hand and on display.

Athena (159) has posed:
As Cayde is wandering away from the convention space for the Jedi, he might glimpse someone quite important heading his direction - the Chancellor. The Chancellor is tailed by his assistant, and another young man some may recognize as Emissarius Vlaven, the Republic's associate Treasurer.

The portly Twi'lek smiles in greeting at him, while the others follow him quietly. "Good afternoon, young padawan!" he says with a smile, patting Cayde on the shoulder. "It is a great day to be a part of the Republic...!" He then turns and heads towards where Pike is sitting, waving at the Jedi Master. "Master...! Thank you for your service. I trust you've been enjoying the convention?"

Ariune Xialla (402) has posed:
    "...only natural for one to have emotions," Ariune is discussing the Jedi creed with a curious woman near the booth. The difference in stature between the towering devaronian and the shorter miraluka Jedi is somewhat comical, but the latter is all polite smiles as she carries on with the conversation. "Just as it is natural for one to have thoughts. The important part is to make peace with them. To control your emotions; not to allow them to control you. You are not your emotions, just as you or not your thoughts. You are more than the sum of your parts.

    "The creed is a guiding light for us, something that provides us order and calm when situations might otherwise be trying. The path of the Jedi is many things, but one thing it is, is a path of self-control. And through self-control, achieving balance and harmony with the universe.

    "Does that answer your question, miss?" she asks.

    There is a reply, though it is lost in the bustle of the crowd, and a reply from Ariune in turn; the conversation continues on in that fashion, bouncing back and forth between philosophical debate and political engagement.

    "...no reason to believe it belongs to anyone. Such was their claim, but..."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Speaking of thoughts and emotions...there are just so many here. Cayde had been almost completely absorbed in just trying to remain focused and not get lost in that great sea, when suddenly someone was touching his shoulder. He blinks and finds himself in front of the Chancellor himself. Sure, he'd seen the man from a distance before, but never like this and certainly he'd never been personally greeted by him.

    The padawan stares at him, his face flushing. Finally, he manages to regain his composure somewhat, bowing respectfully. [...Chancellor] he signs.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike removes his pipe from his mouth and holds it up in salute. "Your Excellency! The Outer Rim has fine weed! It is my pleasure to serve!"

Athena (159) has posed:
The Chancellor seems puzzled by Cayde's delayed response, but makes no comment about it. He glances around, and hmms. "I am surprised that such youth among the Jedi were able to come alone," he murmurs, to no one in particular. "Say, my good lad, is your Master around here somewhere?"

The Chancellor chuckles at Pike. "For light and for life," he says. "I don't believe we've met, yet, Master. Do tell me your name. And oh! Where are my manners!" he gestures at his assistant, "This is Sanzo Laa, my personal assistant. And this fine young man is our associate Treasurer, Emissarius Vlaven." The assistant bows politely, but Pike may notice that Vlaven's expression is distant. He only nods faintly at the elder Jedi. It's clear there's something else on his mind.

A young human child in the crowd Ariune comes up to the Miralukan female and tugs on her robe. "So, are you gonna do something cool or not? My brother said the Jedi were going to do a training demonstration."

Ariune Xialla (402) has posed:
    Ariune wraps up the conversation she was having and turns to regard the child.

    "Hm? A demonstration? That might be at the booth we have set up," she replies. Her soft spot for children is pretty immediately apparent. "How about we go ask? And you can tell me about your brother on the way there."

    The Jedi offers to lead the child through the dense crowd by the hand, toward Pike and Cayde and the--oh, is that the chancellor himself?

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde shrugs vaguely in response to the question of whether his master is around here somewhere.

    He nods politely when the Chancellor introduces the others who are with him. The associate treasurer seems distracted though, and a casual curiosity has him trying to probe and see what the problem might be...

Pike Windu has posed:
    As the Chancellor begins introductions, Pike gets to his feet. His lightsaber discreetly disappears. The Jedi Master leans forward in an elegant bow to the high officials.

    "I am Master Pike Windu. I am honored by your attention, Excellency."

Athena (159) has posed:
The girl child shrugs and takes Ariune hands. "My brother is always saying crazy things. He said that Jedi can make their lightsabers spin like a wheel without even touching it. I don't really believe him," she scoffs. "My mom says that Jedi are all talk, no action. And so far, you're proving her right."

Cayde will find that for some reason, the associate treasurer is unhappy. He seems to think the entire convention is a waste of credits that should have been spent elsewhere. He also seems to think that the convention itself shouldn't have been hosted, at all...

The Chancellor nods. "A pleasure, Master Windu. I am equally honored by the Jedi presence here. What a day to be alive...! The only shame is I very much had hoped to garner more support from our sponsors, so that the convention could have lasted four days, instead of two..."

Ariune Xialla (402) has posed:
    "Hey now," Ariune says, laughing. "I promised you we'd get to the bottom of this demonstration thing, and we will. But, you know, there's nothing wrong with talk. People do it a lot. IF we just did things without talking all the time, how would we work together?"

    She forges her way through the crowd and makes it to the small gathering of Jedi and important officials.

    "Good afternoon," Ariune says. "I trust everything is going well?"

    And gently she tries to reach out with her mind toward Pike, to quietly confer with him: Were we planning on putting on some kind of demonstration today?

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Well if Mr. Emissarius thought it was a waste of money, why was he even here? Maybe the Chancellor had strong-armed him into it. Or guilt tripped, or something. Yes, that must have been it.

    When the Chancellor starts talking about how he wishes the convention could have gone on even longer, there is a...notion...of sorts, in his mind that seemed to have come from elsewhere. Pity for Vlaven. Having to be somewhere he hates at an event he doesn't agree with where his boss keeps talking about how great it is...is he aware of the associate treasurer's feelings? Perhaps he is, and this had been purposeful.

    Cayde doesn't seem to notice Ariune's arrival along with the girl. There seems to be a distant expression stuck on his face, one that Pike is probably familiar with.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Windu straightens up. "Your Excellency, the light that burns twice as bright only burns half as long."

    The Jedi Master glances at the child with Ariune. Perhaps she will feel a tap on her shoulder.

Athena (159) has posed:
"Talking's boring," the girl complains. "'Cause you're not gonna be able to talk a building out of falling onto someone!"

When Pike taps her on the shoulder, she whirls around. "So where's the cool light swords? I wanna see a ... what is it called? Oh, yeah. A training duel. My brother said the Jedi were gonna have one." She looks around and then her gaze falls on Ariune. "You can fight her, right?"

When Cayde plants the notion of pity into the Chancellor's psyche, he frowns, both puzzled and confused. He immediately changes the subject, turning to Vlaven, eyes wide. "Vlaven, is everything alright? You look a bit like you've got quite a bit on your mind."

Vlaven turns to the Chancellor with a smooth smile. "Everything's just fine, Chancellor Rie," he says. "It is a pity the sponsors only ended up donating half of what they promised..."

"Oh indeed," the Chancellor says. "And you've worked so hard. I ought to see if we can get you a raise..!"

Cayde might suddenly feel a new emotion coming off of the young associate treasurer - smugness, and disdain for the Chancellor...

Ariune Xialla (402) has posed:
    "Well, no, there's a place for other action, too, but I still think you shouldn't discount talking that much. Talking is just as much of something as anything else. Talking can organize a rescue. Or start repairs on the building. Or teach you things, pass down knowledge...you're a pretty smart kid, you know that?" Ariune praises. "Let's maybe save drawing the dangerous light swords for a time when it won't alarm a big crowd like this, but," and she makes a show of looking around. "I suppose I can show you a trick or two. What do you think about flying?"

    And then Ariune tugs gently on the girl's hand, upward, and lets go, leaving her floating a few feet above the ground. She sets her down a few moments afterward, once the girl's had enough.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Somehow, Vlaven's feelings toward the Chancellor don't surprise Cayde. Those politicians tended to be very self-serving. Rie probably isn't much better himself, even though he seems to be very good at not showing it... on the outside, anyway.

    Anyway, it's not really his business. But when he thinks about withdrawing, he suddenly finds something pulling him back. Ugh, not this again. Was it the will of the Force for the Chancellor to know Vlaven's true feelings toward him?

    Suddenly, there is a voice in Rie's mind. Not a voice that is heard but felt.
    <He hates you....>

Pike Windu has posed:
    As the Chancellor's attention shifts away, Pike settles himself back into his chair. As he relights his pipe, he watches Ariune with the child.

Athena (159) has posed:
The girl rolls her eyes. "Yeah, but me and my family didn't come all the way out here just to see a bunch of Jedi talk about 'peace and happiness and organizing stuff.' I wanna see cool tricks--"

And then Ariune lifts the girl into the air a few feet. "Whoa...!"

But perhaps that wasn't the best idea. Once the girl is back on the ground, she pulls on Ariune's robe again. "Okay, now you -have- to do something else. Come on, please?! It's not just me either... everyone wants to see the light swords and cool fighting tricks!" The child isn't wrong. A small crowd has gathered now, among them several reporters with cam droids, ready to record the demonstration. "It'll be good for the Order's PR," one of the journalists offers, "and will sure make one hell of a headline on the Holonet!" he chuckles.

The Chancellor looks around, puzzled. "...did someone say something?" he says, suddenly looking very worried.

While the Chancellor is looking concerned, Vlaven smirks, very briefly. "Perhaps," he says to the Chancellor, "but I doubt it's anything to be concerned about. But you /were/ saying something about a raise?"

Sertil (396) has posed:
Sertil walks into the casino, nodding to the individuals within. First to his fellow Jedi... with a respectful bow to Master Windu... and then another respectful bow to the Chancellor. "Good afternoon, everyone. I hope the day finds you all well?" he says, then he chuckles at the little girl and how Ariune manages to impress her... and only whet her appetite for more. "Well, perhaps a demonstration of some of the forms wouldn't be amiss?" he says to the Miralukan.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Again, Cayde tries to withdraw, but again, something pulls him back. Frustrated, he starts trying to project Vlaven's memories and emotions directly into the Chancellor. How much he hated this convention, and the utter disdain he feels for his superior--a fat, pompous fool. Emissarius is just here because he wants Rie's job for himself...isn't he? A greedy, miserable, self-serving man who would never have enough until he had absolute control of everything around him....

    Wasn't that enough? The padawan desperately tries to free himself again, pushing hard. A sharp pain starts in the back of his head and seems to radiate everywhere. Abruptly, he doubles over and vomits onto the feet of an unfortunate passerby. Oh look, it happened to be that Devaronian woman Ariune had been talking to earlier.

Pike Windu has posed:
    At the sight of the young Jedi's distress, Windu is on his feet immediately, his pipe smoldering on the floor. The Jedi Master gracefully vaults over the booth's counter.

    "Padawan, let me help you sit down."

Ariune Xialla (402) has posed:
    Ariune looks a little embarrassed at all of the attention suddenly being drawn there way, but she smiles through it and starts to finally acquiesce to the lightsaber practice, when Cayde is suddenly vomiting.

    "Well, I suppose if--oh, dear. Give me a moment."

    She rushes over to help the other two Jedi. Bring over a chair, or water, or something. "What happened?"

Athena (159) has posed:
The crowd looks excited, but only momentarily, because as if one person vomiting isn't enough to cause a stir, the Chancellor himself suddenly looks a bit faint!

Abruptly, his knees give out, and he's falling forward, a distant look on his face. "Chancellor!!" his assistant says, rushing forward to catch the Twi'lek before he faceplants. The associate treasurer Vlaven is right behind Laa, grabbing the Chancellor's other arm and helping haul him back to his feet. "What -happened?-" he asks, frowning.

"Such.. such intense feelings of hatred... I..." the Chancellor trails off mildly.

Vlaven frowns, looking around, but his gaze finally rests on Cayde. His eyes narrow. "It was you, wasn't it?" he says. But without waiting for Cayde to respond, he turns to Pike. "You shouldn't be letting these unruly children exercise their abilities in public like this," he reprimands. "Shouldn't the Council know better? Where's the boy's Master?"

Sertil (396) has posed:
Sertil watches the happenings, pursing his lips as he observes first Cayde, then the Chancellor grow ill, hearing the Chancellor's words. He gives the Padawan a long look before raising his eyebrow at Pike. He then turns to Vlaven, all smiles and diplomacy, a confident step towards the man.

"Master Windu can handle the Padawan, don't you worry about that," he says, deciding that joining in the crowd around Cayde would just be making matters worse. "Chancellor, are you alright? Do you need to have a seat?" he asks, concern showing on his face as he works to keep the politicians' focus off the younger Jedi.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Sit down isn't quite enough. By the time Pike and Ariune have come over to Cayde, he's already in a heap on the ground, exhausted. At least he'd finally managed to pull out of that hatred-filled cesspool.

    ...wait, are those reporters? Why are there reporters here...?

Pike Windu has posed:
    Windu curses under his breath as he comes to Cayde too late. And then the Chancellor is ill! The Healer glances at Ariune and nods towards Cayde before moving to the Republic's leader.

    "Excellency, deep breaths and relax."

    Ignoring the other official, Windu closes his eyes and begins silently reciting a mantra.

Navi has posed:
Navi, once more drawn to Canto Bight via the Force, or so she believes, arrives just in time for things to start coming unwrapped. "Um... I can watch the little girl for you, Master Jedi," she calls softly after Ariune, watching as the Chancellor and Padawan Alexis are attended to rather urgently. Looking down at the girl, she asks, "What happened, anyway? I get the feeling I got here just too late to see the excitement."

Ariune Xialla (402) has posed:
    "Yes, thank you," Ariune has the wherewithal to answer Navi, before turning her attention to the padawan and the chancellor. "How are you feeling? What happened?" she tries again, after giving them time to recover a little more. "Can you sit?" Her voice is calm and steady, as she attempts to ground the padawan in the moment rather than causing more stress.

Athena (159) has posed:
Indeed, there are reporters everywhere now, crowding the young Jedi and the Chancellor himself. Ariune might even get buffeted aside as some of them (rather foolishly, albeit) try to hold microphones up to Cayde's face.

"Is Vlaven's accusation true?" they bombard Cayde. "If so, why did you do this? Where's your master? Did you come here alone? Does the Council know you're here by yourself?"

Vlaven folds his arms, looking skeptical of Sertil's remark. "Can he? Seems to me he's handling things a bit -late-. I would have expected that his Master would know to anticipate such events."

The girl that Navi has now been tasked with overseeing looks annoyed. "Aw, they were about to do some cool tricks... this is so lame..."

The Chancellor nods, as Windu uses the Force to help him regain his composure. "Ah... yes, that's better," he says. "As for what happened... I'm not quite sure, I had this sudden sense that someone hated me very much..." One of the reporters immediately replies with, "Do you think that someone here might want to assassinate you?" A loud and palpable 'oh-h-h-h!' washes over the crowd, which quickly begins to escalate to a somewhat noisy uproar. "Will you be attending the second day of the convention?!" someone else cries out.

Vlaven waves the reporters off. "At this rate, no," he says, glancing over at Sanzo, who just gives him a timid look. "At least, no one with good judgement would recommend that the Chancellor do anything other than go back to Coruscant and get some proper rest," Vlaven says, giving Sanzo a pointed look. Sanzo just nods vigorously. "I agree," he says hastily.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Fitting how Ariune was discussing earlier how that one little girl was discounting the importance of talking. Of course those who could always talk would take that for granted. Because they haven't given thought to what what it might be like if they were like Cayde, and that wasn't even an option.

    The padawan finally sits up, only find himself with microphones that he can't use thrust into his face and bombarded with questions he can't answer. His face flushes again, and he glances desperately at Ariune, hoping she can field their questions or fend them off, or...something.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Windu frowns at the Chancellor. "Hate is the Dark Side, Excellency! Perhaps it would be best for you to leave this place. I think whatever ailed you has passed and you may travel."

Sertil (396) has posed:
Sertil frowns at the sudden turn of events, at how quickly things have spun out of control and into chaos. The winds of the Force seem to swirl around them all, and he feels the currents before speaking once again. "A return all the way to Coruscant is not necessary for one who has only had a mild bout of queasiness," he replies, attempting to regain some control. "I'm sure with a few hours of rest His Excellency will be able to carry on. No need to let a mild setback interrupt such an important occasion as a summit on the economic development of such a large section of the galaxy, with so many beings' futures at stake." As he speaks he reaches out with the Force, trying to get a sense of what's truly at play here, why the treasurer is so intent on getting the Chancellor to leave.

Navi has posed:
"Do you mean the Jedi?" Navi asks the girl softly, one eye on her new charge and the other on the situation playing out before her. Both are growing more dramatic by the moment, as illustrated by the girl's complaints and the collective horrified wail of the crowd. "It's a shame. The Jedi know some very good tricks indeed. Maybe we'd better step over here, so we're not in the way," she suggests softly. "I only know one or two tricks, and I'm not a Jedi, but maybe they'll be back this way soon. I'm Navi. What should I call you?" she asks, drawing back her hood and smiling warmly at the girl.

Ariune Xialla (402) has posed:
    "Please, pardon me," Ariune says, politely but firmly interposing herself between Cayde and the reporters. "I am sure your questions will be answered in time. But please, just allow us a moment; give him a moment to recover."

    Toward Cayde she projects mental calm, not intrusively but supportively, offering the serenity of a telepathic presence alongside his own, should he choose to accept it.

Athena (159) has posed:
The reporters ignore Ariune and continue to try to bombard Cayde with questions, but eventually, upon discovering that he's rather unresponsive, eventually peel off to go harass the Chancellor instead.

The Chancellor nods mildly, looking a bit discouraged and tired. "You may be right," he says to the healer.

Vlaven's eyes narrow at Sertil. "Since when was the Order allowed to make recommendations on behalf of the Chancellor's office regrading personal matters?" he says, folding his arms. "If there is even the smallest chance that his life is in danger, perhaps it's best to be safe rather than sorry." Sanzo, interestingly enough, doesn't comment. It would seem he's happy to let Vlaven's assertive personality overshadow his own.

"Either way," The associate treasurer continues. "I think it's time for the Chancellor to retire for the evening at the very least." He takes the Chancellor's arm (perhaps even a bit forcefully) and starts pulling him away from the thronging crowd and eager reporters. Sertil will be able to ascertain that Vlaven definitely has some ulterior motives - he'd never been a fan of the convention to begin with and knows a lot more about why the convention's sponsors hadn't apparently donated as much as they'd said they would. He'll also get the sense that Vlaven knows far more than an associate treasurer should know - and not even in regard to just the Chancellor's office. There's something off about him...

"Duh, who else?" the girl says, folding her arms. She reluctantly follows Navi. "Well do you have a cool light sword because if you don't then I'm not interested," she says. "My name is Mirtle," she says.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Fortunately, the reporters eventually back off, even if not right away. Ariune's presence seems to calm Cayde for a moment, but then he begins to realize that he'd once again created a mess. He quickly gets to his feet, dusting himself off. Really, he never should have come here in the first place.

    [I am sorry] he signs to the Miralukan. [But thank you...] Then he starts to hurry away, wanting to put as much as distance between himself and this problem he created but can't fix as possible.

Sertil (396) has posed:
Sertil gives Vlaven a cool look, peering at him more intently as he feels the currents of discord around this man. Something is most certainly wrong here, and if there is any danger to the Chancellor, it is likely in this man who caught onto what was being projected into the Chancellor's mind too quickly. "The Jedi Order have long been allies of the Republic, offering counsel and support in good times and bad, Associate Treasurer," he says, putting an emphasis on the word "Associate". "And this convention was put together for the good of the Republic and the beings within it. For Light and Life. I look forward to seeing His Excellency tomorrow," he says intently, before letting the man escort the Chancellor away.

There is still damage control to be done here. He sees the Padawan hurrying off, and tries to confer with Pike and Ariune. "Someone needs to look after the Padawan, make sure he's alright. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but the convention still needs to carry on as well. There was talk of a demonstration earlier, perhaps that can help get things back on track," he says quietly.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike nods at the treasurer. He turns his attention back to Cayde. Seeing the boy has disappeared, He shakes his head and goes back behind the booth to be alone with his thoughts.

Navi has posed:
"I'm afraid I don't. I have a crystal and some of the parts to build one in my robe, but it will be a while before I can finish it," Navi confesses. "Sorry I'm not as interesting as the Jedi, but they seem pretty busy right now. Let's give them some finish up."

Seeing Cayde flee the scene and the other Jedi moving into damage control roles, she gently takes Mirtle's hand, to lead her closer to the Jedi. "Things seem to be calming down some. Maybe we can talk to the Jedi soon," she suggests.

Ariune Xialla (402) has posed:
"I'll go check on the padawan," Ariune volunteers softly, perhaps feeling her skills are more suited to that task than a lightsaber duel. On her way past the child and Navi, the miraluka thanks Navi again: "Thank you, truly. And, don't worry, I think a demonstration is in the works. I hope you enjoy it."

Athena (159) has posed:
"Allies," Vlaven says smoothly, "not advisors, might I remind you," he says, as he moves to escort the Chancellor away from the crowd and nosy reporters.

Mirtle shakes her head. "Well that's dumb. Ugh...! I really thought there was gonna be a lightsaber show. Of course my brother is always gonna tell me stuff to get me excited for nothing." She grumbles. "I guess it was nice meeting you Navi, but since the Jedi are busy 'talking,' I should really go find my mom and dad." She withdraws her hand and disappears into the crowd. Hopefully she doesn't get lost.

Navi has posed:
"Please take care, Mirtle," Navi replies softly. "The Jedi are sure to do something interesting later." She manages a small smile for Ariune. "You're very welcome. It's kind of my good deed for the day. But I think I'd better keep half an eye on her, just to make sure she doesn't get lost in this crowd. I'll be back in a moment or two. Good luck finding Padawan Alexis." With that, she starts cautiously after Mirtle.